Ella's Rose
by Val H
Summary: 200 years after the rebellion, Panem is a changed place. The Hunger Games are gone, the districts are gone, and all that's left is the Capitol and two different cities. Follow the story of three strange worlds, two sisters, and one mysterious necklace that leads them to answers no one would ever expect.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I have always felt like there has been a part of me that's missing, but now I feel empty. In exactly one week, my sister will be leaving for the capitol. Her name is Ella and, she isn't really my sister. Most kids are only children, but I know a pair of twins, and Ella and I are closer than they have ever been.

Ella's mom died in a terrible accident seven years ago, so instead of Ella being sent to the capitol orphanage, my mom took her in. Ever since, she's lived with us and has played the role of my older sister. The reason she is leaving is because today is her 18th birthday. Once a girl turns 18 they are sent to the capitol, but they come back, they always do. You are given a week after the say of your birthday to say goodbye to you mom and your friends.

However, after the girls come back, about nine months later they have a baby. And when you ask them what they did, all their stories sound pretty much the same. Nobody seems bothered by this, but the idea leaves Ella terrified. I have never really thought about it until last night when I saw her rubbing her fingers back and forth on the necklace she always. I knew something was wrong because she only does that when she is upset or nervous. The necklace is the shape of a rose and has little carvings all around it of what we think are names. It is hard to tell though because Ella has basically worn it down until it's smooth with all her rubbing. Her mom gave it to her of her 10th birthday and told her to be very careful with it, so she did. Ella is very obedient and respectful, unlike me, but it's better that way because we have more fun.

When I asked Ella what was wrong, she started to scream at me. She yelled so loud and fast, it was hard to tell what she was trying to say. When she stopped, I was still in a state of shock. Never in my life have I seen Ella in that much pain.


	2. Story Announcement

**Story Announcement!**

Anyone who is interested can send in either a person from the Capitol that the main character will meet, or someone who works at the capitol that she will hear of. Please fill out the following questions! Applications **only** through personal message only please! Thank you :)

Name:

Gender:

Age:

Looks:

Personality:

Background (pervious jobs, how they used to live; rich poor, etc.):

Do they work at the capitol or are they living there:

Connection with character (Clover) (if they meet or if she hears of them):

Good or bad:

Job (if they have one):

Do you want them to live through the book or die:


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The door opens and Ella walks in. Suddenly, the lights are flicked on, "SURPRISE!" everyone yells. I run up and give Ella a love filled hug, "Happy Birthday," I say, but turn around quickly, not wanting Ella to see me cry.

Today was her big day, most girls look forward to this day, the day where they go to the real world, the capitol. The only things that the girls under the age of 18 know about the capitol are that there are wild parties, fancy machines, and something called boys.

Nobody really knows what they are until they go to the capitol. But when they come back they act like they still don't know what a boy is.

"Clover, honey come on, it's time for cake." Broken from my trance, I turn around and follow my mom into the kitchen. They are finishing the birthday song just as I walk in.

"Clove, come here," Ella whispers. I walk over and she puts something into my hand. She smile, then blows out the candles looking satisfied with herself. I place the object into my pocket and promise myself not to look at it until I'm alone. Once the party is over, Ella and I walk to the river to stare at the stars like we always do.

I figure that now would be an appropriate time to look at what she gave me. Reaching into my pocket, I pull out a necklace that has a rose on it, a necklace that has been worn down from rubbing, a necklace that I have seen every day for the past seven years of my life.

"Ella…" I say, lost for words for the first time in my life.

"I want you to have it, so when I'm gone, you won't forget about me" I turn to face her and see three small, delicate tears running down her fair and beautiful face. Her gray blue eyes shimmer from the moon light, and reflect the waves of the river passing by.

"Ella, I will never forget you." We sit in silence for what seems like a century and the only sounds are the distant noises from the capitol and the splashing of water from the river. After a while, Ella breaks the silence, "Clove, what do you think they really do there."

"What?"

"Do you remember what I said last night?"

"About how everyone's stories sound the same?"

"Yeah, it doesn't seem right to me, and to tell you the truth, I'm terrified." I think about this for a moment. My fearless friend isn't just scared of the capitol, she's afraid that I'm going to forget about her and all of the amazing memories we've had together.

That night, I look into the mirror and see a girl with large green eyes, golden hair, and a slim body starring back at me. I stare in amazement because I have just realized, that in some strange way, Ella and I kind of look alike. I flop on to my bed and let out all of the building stress, fear and anger. I guess my sobs were too loud because I could hear Ella stir in the room next to me and my mom came in to check on me. "Is everything alright?" My mother asks, concerned from my sudden weeping.

"Mom, did you and Ella's mom know each other well? You know, before she died?" I choke out between sobs.

"Why?" my mom asks, clearly confused by this random question.

"I don't know, it's just I don't really remember her because she died when I was still young."

"Clover, I thought you knew this already but Ella's mom, Fawn Rivers, was my twin."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When I wake up I change into my school uniform and put on the small necklace that Ella gave me. I have sworn to myself that I will wear this every day for the rest of my life. As I walk downstairs I hear my mom and Ella talking. "Ella honey, the Capitol will be fun! Most girls can't wait for this day to come." I wait for a response but all I hear is a muffled sob. As quieltly as I can, I walk over to where Ella is and rub her back.

"Ella, you will be home soon and if you like it, you can stay there forever. The Capitol has a retirement home for anyone who wishes to stay there. At least, that's what they tell us." I say, trying to calm her down. It didn't seem to work though, because her sobs got louder.

"Clover, eat your breakfast, you have to go to school soon." My mom instructs. Reluctanly, I stand and eat slice of bread before I leave to catch the bus.

Ugh, I think to myself. I'm late for the bus again, and now I have to walk in this extreme heat. I guess I don't mind though, I never really talked to anyone and it always smells of rotten eggs and oinos. I kick a pile of gravel which sends rocks flying. A few of them jump into a nearby stream and makes the dance. The sun is beating down on me and I start to sweat in my 100% wool socks. What type of evil person would make inosecent girls wear wool socks in the middle of spring? Looking at my watch, I see that I'm already late for school so I decide to cool off with a quick dip in the stream.

I take of my smelly, itchy high socks that aren't the right length for me because I'm so tall and throw my clunky brown shows into a bush. Rolling up my skirt, I jump in and hit my foot on something hard. I roll up my sleaves and reach in to see what I stubbed my toe on. The dirt around the object slips away and I pick up a small stainless steel box. I try and pry it open, but it won't budge. As I examine the box more carefully, I realize it needs a key. The key hole is a bizzare design of curves and twists that doesn't seem to make any shape. While I'm in the midst of studying my newly found object, I hear footsteps from off in the distance. Startled by the sudden noise, I quickly rise from the water and throw the box into my bag. I start to put on my socks, but I catch a glance at my watch and stop what I'm doing. I make a break for my jail looking school but step on a jagged rock and have to stop for a moment while I use my ugly tan colored long sleved shirt to mop up some of the blood from my foot.

As I limp into the gray and brown lobby of my school, I am greeted by my infuriated principal, Ms. Brown.

"Clover Mince, can you please explain to me the reason you have blood stains on your shirt, why you're an hour and a half late for school and why you are dripping wet and limping into my school without your shoes or socks on?" Wow, I think to myself, I really messed up this time.

As I try dry off in an uncomfortable leather chair, Ms. Brown calls my mom letting her know that I was tardy to school again and that I will be receiving three weeks of A.S.C.'s which is short for After School Classes. It really just means that I have three weeks of detention, but we're not allowed to say or use that word anymore.

Once I leave the foul smelling principal's office, I throw my stuff into my locker and head to history class. We're learning about something called the Hunger Games. They Capitol used to host it every year up until about 200 years ago when there was a rebellion. What they used to do was to send two different types of kids from each district to fight to their death in an arena. In the end, whoever was the last one alive would receive fame and fortune. Nobody really understands what "two different types of kids from each district" means, but we are required to know our country's history to pass.

The whole rest of the day was a blur to me. All that I was thinking about was a way to open the box and Ella. I wish she was at school today, but after you turn 18 you're done with school forever. Unless, of course you wish to be a surgeon or teacher or something along those lines, then you gain another eight years of school in the Capitol to train and learn about your new job. However, that costs a lot of money, and very few follow this path. Most of us find a local job or choose to work at the capitol when we're sent there at age 18. Life is getting boring, everything is the same. Every day you go to school and learn some idiotic thing that you will never use in your life again. Then, once we have summer break, we go to camp every day and learn how to sow or fish. I'm tired of the plain life that we live in, and I hate the matching uniforms and backpacks, the identical houses, and the stupid jobs that our moms have to work to get money. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I turn 18 yet, but I know, I will make a difference.


	5. Chapter 4

**Be sure to check out a Percy Jackson fanfic. Published by, Laugh-Read-Music-Dream! It's called "Freedom".**

Chapter 4

The week went by in a flash. Ella and I spent every day together, but it wasn't enough. I didn't want her to leave, but I had no choice. We had talked for hours about when were younger and what we thought would happen to us in the future.

During many of these conversations we would both end up in tears, but we could normally cheer each other up. However, on the night before Ella left, neither of us could stop weeping. All of our anger towards the Capitol burst out and we refused to stop screaming. My mom had to calm us down and put us to bed. That night, I slept in Ella's bed, although we have separate rooms, and we did not want to let go of each other for one minute, so we clung together as if our lives depended on it. When we woke up, our eyes were puffy from crying the whole night, and our bodies were in the same position as when we fell asleep.

We decided to go to the river one, last time before she left. As the water came into view, Ella started to sniffle and I knew she was holding back tears. We sat the whole time, neither of us speaking a word to the other. I wanted to tell her how much I cared about her, but I was afraid if I said one little word, she would break down. Her body was shaking from her quiet sobs, and her eyes were closed with the effort.

As we walked back home, Ella's face was expressionless, and at exactly 1:00 pm, a Capitol car came to take her away.

The whole time we were saying goodbye, Ella's face was paler the usual, but she didn't cry. I figured she had cried herself out during the week. Right as she was about to leave, I remembered something.

"Wait!" I yelled, and sprinted upstairs to my mom's room and pulled open her dresser drawer. As I searched around frantically, I finally found what I was looking for. I pulled out a small framed picture of Ella and me on my ninth birthday. This is my favorite photo of us because it shows how much we care about each other, and has beautiful scenery in the background. The stream behind us reflects the cloudless bright blue sky, and Ella's rose necklace is shimmering from the shinning sun. I stand there staring when I realize that the shape of the necklace and the keyhole to my newly found box are very similar.

I race downstairs to retrieve my backpack, but my mom stops me. "Clove," she says. "She left. The capitol officer was growing impatient and basically dragged her into the car. I tried to stop her, but she told me they were already running late. I'm so sorry, but Ella's gone."

I stand there gapping, with my mouth hanging wide open. My eyes start to water and I try to hold them in, but it's no use. Tears start to stream down my face and soon enough, I'm sobbing. Nothing seems to matter anymore, I can't think, my head hurts and I don't think I'll ever forgive myself. I can't believe I missed her. I wasted my time staring at a dumb old picture and now she doesn't have anything to remember me by. As I kick my backpack in frustration, a small silver box flies out and I regain my thoughts.

Reaching for my neck, I grab the rose necklace and insert it into the key hole. The small box springs open with a click, I pull out a fragile piece of folded paper, and a faded picture.

Carefully, I unfold the paper and read the note. I feel frozen from amazement, fear, and shock. The letter is addressed to Ella, and it's dated from 7 years ago. The night before Ella's mom died.


End file.
